PIONEER COLLINS HONORED: Broadcaster, writer and historian Bud Collins was such a fun-loving media pioneer, and he rarely fails to make things interesting. Today, the US Open media center was named after him in an emotional ceremony that drew many an appreciative writer. The fabled trailblazer showed up in striking red and black Maori pants, which were given to him by the head of Tennis New Zealand.
ACRONYM OF THE YEAR: SABR, which refers to Federer‘s new net-charging ways and stands for “Sneak Attack By Roger.”
HEADLINE OF THE DAY:
‘MADISON KEYS COMFORTABLE PLAYING THE ROLE OF VILLAIN’
PROFESSIONALIZING MADISON: Madison Keys‘ agent Max Eisenbud said, “You’re looking at the future. When Madison gets it all together, she’s going to win her share of Grand Slams.” He added that Keys’ coach Lindsay Davenport has “professionalized her…[and taught her] how to go from one match to the next, not to hang out all day in the player’s lounge, conserving energy, finding somewhere alone to listen to music. Lindsay took her cell phone away after she beat (Petra) Kvitova in Australia. She didn’t want to see all the texts telling her how great she is.”
BOUCHARD’S HARD FALL: Republican Presidential candidate Carly Fiorina explains being fired as the CEO of the Hewlett Packard by saying she “didn’t survive a board room brawl.” Canadian Genie Bouchard didn’t survive a US Open locker room fall. The incident was the latest of many a curious twist in her young career. Surprise runs in 2014 deep into Slams, interesting departures from two coaches, failures to shake her opponents’ hands, romantic rumors and flirting with her mixed doubles partner, Nick Kyrgios. Dressed in a purple hoodie, staring downward and seeming shaky, Bouchard entered Ashe Stadium today, shortly before she withdrew from the singles due to a concussion.
Writer Stephanie Myles reported that Bouchard had gone to a hospital emergency room after she fell Friday night. Bouchard had just been emerging from a wretched slump and had battled mightily to win three matches in New York. She also won a mixed doubles match. Myles reported that to get to an ice bath at 11 pm, Genie had to walk through a dark training room that had been treated and was wet. The Canadian “slipped and fell on the floor – backwards – hit her elbow and then the back of her head quite severely…The classic symptoms of a concussion were nearly all in evidence: no vomiting, but migraine headaches the last two days, extreme sensitivity to light and sound, a very sore neck, and some dizziness.” Nonetheless, Genie wanted to play today, before she finally decided to withdraw. She reportedly wanted to get up on the treadmill and try to move. Bouchard arrived in practice clothes; two court reservations were made and then cancelled before the final word came down.
Myles wrote, “There certainly will be more questions to come.
For example, was Bouchard alone when this happened? If (so), why was she? Clearly exhausted even after the singles, she told the crowd during the on-court interview that she ‘couldn’t feel her body.’ Then she went out to play even more tennis.
If she wasn’t alone, why didn’t someone turn on the light as she made her way through an unfamiliar room she sees only once a year?”
BTW: for some reason the floors underneath Ashe Stadium are often wet and slippery, even when many are using them.
Bouchard’s concussion brought to mind many a bizarre injury.
Serena stepped on a glass in a Munich bar, and Dave Wheaton skateboarded through a plate glass window while a Stanford student. In New York, historians recalled that long ago, England’s Roger Taylor punched the charging South African Bob Hewitt in a locker room and broke his knuckle, which prevented the Brit from playing the French Open. Legendary trainer Bill Norris had to break up a fight between John McEnroe and Steve Denton in Milan. Tracy Austin and Andrea Jaeger once got into it a bit in California. But Chrissie Evert has the most creative locker room resume. At Wimbledon she streaked naked past the locker room window that overlooks Centre Court. Nobody saw. And at the Australian Open, she and Pam Shriver sashayed into the men’s locker room and said, “Hey guys, what’s up?”
COUNTERPUNCHERS KO’D: The best, most tenacious counterpunchers of two successive generations were knocked out on successive nights when Lleyton Hewitt lost in five sets on Thursday and Rafael Nadal fell on Friday.
KONTA’S SWEET 16: Armed with a big serve, Great Britain’s Johanna Konta, who plays Petra Kvitova next, has won 16 matches in a row. The Guardian notes that it’s the longest winning streak by a British woman in 15 years.
QUOTEBOOK:
“I don’t know what to expect, I’ve never been in this train. It’s definitely different.” – Serena Williams
“You have to get through this thing called press.” – Venus Williams
“I’ve never felt invincible. I’ve never used that word to describe myself.” – Serena Williams
CRAZY COOL: Roger Federer said, “If I could get back to No. 1 in some way, that would be crazy cool.”
